1.
Sigismund III Vasa
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He was the son of King John III of Sweden and his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland. Elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund sought to create a union between the Commonwealth and Sweden, and succeeded for a time in 1592. After he had deposed in 1599 from the Swedish throne by his uncle, Charles IX of Sweden. Shortly after his victory over his enemies, Sigismund took advantage of a period of civil unrest in Muscovy and invaded Russia. In 1617 the Polish–Swedish conflict, which had been interrupted by an armistice in 1611, while Sigismunds army was also fighting Ottoman forces in Moldavia, King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden invaded Sigismunds lands, capturing Riga and seizing almost all of Polish Livonia. Sigismund, who concluded the Truce of Altmark with Sweden in 1629 and his Swedish wars resulted, moreover, in Polands loss of Livonia and in a diminution of the kingdoms international prestige. Sigismund remains a controversial figure in Poland. His long reign coincided with the apex of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealths prestige, power, on the other hand, it was during his reign that the symptoms of decline leading to the Commonwealths eventual demise surfaced. However, the question of whether the Commonwealths decline was caused by Sigismunds decisions or had its roots in historical processes beyond his personal control and he was commemorated in Warsaw with Sigismunds Column, commissioned by his son and successor, Władysław IV. Sigismund was born on 20 June 1566 to Catherine Jagiellon and the Grand Duke John of Finland at Gripsholm and his parents, at the time, were being held prisoner by King Eric XIV, but despite the Protestant domination of Sweden young Sigismund was raised as a Roman Catholic. In 1567 Sigismund and his parents where released from prison, and in 1568 Erik XIV was deposed, from 1568 Sigismund was the crown prince of Sweden. His mother was the daughter of Polish king Sigismund I the Old, in 1587 Sigismund stood for election to the Polish throne after the death of his uncle, King Stephen Bathory. He was supported by his aunt Queen Anna, Hetman Jan Zamoyski and it seemed that the issue of who would be King of Poland had been settled when Maximilian III invaded Poland to claim the crown. Hetman Jan Zamoyski defeated Maximilian at the Battle of Byczyna and took him prisoner, however, at the request of Pope Sixtus V, King Sigismund III released Maximilian, who surrendered his claim to Poland in 1589. King Sigismund also tried to maintain peace with his neighbor by marrying Archduchess Anne Habsburg in 1592. It was always his intention to maintain an alliance with Catholic Austria against the Protestant forces, when his father died King Sigismund III asked the Sejm to be allowed to claim his inheritance as the rightful King of Sweden. When he promised to respect Lutheranism as the religion of Sweden. Sigismund was crowned King of Sweden in 1594 and he appointed his uncle, Duke Charles, to rule as regent on his behalf in Sweden while he remained in Poland, since Sweden and the Commonwealth were only in a personal union, not united in one state

2.
Royal Castle, Warsaw
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The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a castle residency that formerly served throughout the centuries as the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town, the personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there from the sixteenth century until the Partitions of Poland. Initially the complex served as the residence of the Dukes of Masovia, and since the century, the seat of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In its long history the Royal Castle was repeatedly plundered and devastated by the invading Swedish, Brandenburgian, Prussian and Tsarist armies. The Constitution of 3 May 1791, the first of its type in Europe, in the 19th century, after the collapse of the November Uprising, it was used as an administrative centre by the Tsar and was re-designed for the needs of the Imperial Russian administration. During the course of World War I it was the residence of the German Governor-General, in 1920-1922 the Royal Castle was the seat of the Polish Head of State and between 1926 and World War II the building was the residence of the Polish president, Ignacy Mościcki. Reconstruction of the carried out in 1971-1984 was led by the Civic Committee. It was afforded by mainly US donations, in 1980, the Royal Castle, together with the Old Town was registered as a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today it is a historical and national monument, and is listed as a national museum visited by over 500,000 people every year, the Royal Castle, due to its iconic appearance and its long history, is one of Warsaws most recognizable landmarks. In the 1339 the Papal Legate in Warsaw heard a case brought by the King of Poland, Casimir III the Great and he claimed that they had illegally seized a slice of Polish territory — Pomerania and the Kujawy region. The documents in this case are the earliest written testimony to the existence of Warsaw, at that time a fortified town surrounded by earthen and wooden ramparts, and situated where the Royal Castle now stands, it was the seat of Trojden, Duke of Masovia. At the end of the 13th century, during the Dukes Conrad II of Mazovia reign, the next duke, Casimir I, decided to build the first brick building here at the burg-citys area the Great Tower. Its facade, which was standing in 1944, was knocked down by the Germans. The character of the new residence and its size decided the change of the buildings status, and from 1414 it functioned as a Prince Manor. When the Masovia region was incorporated in the Kingdom of Poland in 1526, the edifice, which until then had been the Castle of the Dukes of Masovia, became one of the royal residences. From 1548 onwards Queen Bona Sforza resided in it with her daughters Izabela, who became Queen of Hungary, Catherine, later to become Queen of Sweden, in 1556–1557 and in 1564 the King of Poland, Sigismund II Augustus, convened royal parliaments in Warsaw. In 1569–1572 King Sigismund II Augustus started alterations in the Castle, the Curia Maior was altered so as provide a meeting place for the Parliament, with premises for the Chamber of Deputies on the ground floor, and the Senate Chamber on the first floor. This was one of the first attempts in Europe to create a building that would be used solely for parliamentary purposes, a new Renaissance—style building, known as the Royal House, was erected next to the Curia Maior

3.
Polish Crown Jewels
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The only surviving original piece of the Polish Crown Jewels from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword – Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the Wawel Royal Castle Museum in Kraków. Several royal crowns were made, including several during the 16th Century, a Hungarian Crown, a Swedish Crown used by the Vasa kings, and others that were subsequently lost or destroyed. This relic, together with the attached to it, was probably the first insignia of the nascent Kingdom of Poland, a symbol of King Bolesławs rule. It remains unknown what images, if any, were painted or embroidered on the vexillum, starting from 1320 the Crown jewels of the Polish kings were kept in the treasury of the Wawel Cathedral. In 1370 Louis I of Hungary decided to transfer the Polish regalia to Hungary, during the reign of the Jagiellons the jewels were moved from the cathedral to the Wawel Castle and placed in the specially prepared Crown Treasury. In the 17th century they were brought to Warsaw for the coronations of the Polish Queens. During the Deluge in 1655, the insignia were evacuated from the castle by Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, Grand Marshal of the Crown. They were stored there until 1661, in 1703 during the Great Northern War they were hidden again, first in Silesia, then in Moravia. In 1734, however, they were recovered from the hideout and deposited in the Jasna Góra Monastery, in 1764, with the consent of the Sejm, the royal insignia were transported to Warsaw for the coronation of King Stanisław II August. Later returned to the Wawel Castle, where they were kept till the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, on 15 June 1794 the Prussian Army entered Kraków and captured Wawel Castle, subsequently turning it into a fortress. Shortly thereafter, the city commandant, general Leopold von Reuts began a correspondence with Berlin on the fate of furnishings of the Polish kings residence, the locksmith brought by the Prussians broke the locks of the treasury and then opened all the boxes. The valuables were transported in 1794 and found their place in the collection of the Hohenzollerns in Berlin, in 1800 the valuables were stored in the Berlin City Palace, where they were admired by Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, as he informed Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz. In 1809 the Polish regalia were valued at 525,259 thalers and shortly after, on 17 March 1809, in accordance with the decision of Frederick William III of Prussia, all of them were melted down. The obtained gold was reused to make coins, while precious stones and pearls were handed to the Directorate of Maritime Trade in Berlin.94 carats diamond,200 diamonds, a large emerald, among others. It was never used however, because two monks broke into the State Treasury in the Wawel Castle and stole the original regalia, the Augustus II Crown is kept in the Dresden Armory. All of the crown regalia were looted by the Prussians in 1795 after the Third Partition of the Commonwealth. In 1925 Polish Government purchased the silver regalia of King Augustus III and it consisted of two crowns, two sceptres and two orbs made in about 1733

4.
Sceptre
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A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty, either right or cruel, the ancient Indian work of Tirukkural dedicates a separate chapter each on the ethics of the right sceptre and the evils of the cruel sceptre. The Was and other types of staffs were signs of authority in Ancient Egypt, for this reason, they are often described as sceptres, even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the 2nd Dynasty tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The staff with the longest history seems to be the heqa-sceptre, the Bronze Age rulers of Mesopotamia are not regularly depicted with sceptres. However, in instances, they are shown armed, with bow and arrow. Use of a rod or staff as representing authority can be traced to the beginning of Classical Antiquity. Among the early Greeks, the sceptre was a staff, such as Agamemnon wielded or was used by respected elders, and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests. It is represented on painted vases as a staff tipped with a metal ornament. When the sceptre is borne by Zeus or Hades, it is headed by a bird, when, in the Iliad, Agamemnon sends Odysseus to the leaders of the Achaeans, he lends him his sceptre. Among the Etruscans, sceptres of great magnificence were used by kings, many representations of such sceptres occur on the walls of the painted tombs of Etruria. The British Museum, the Vatican, and the Louvre possess Etruscan sceptres of gold, the Roman sceptre probably derived from the Etruscan. Under the Republic, a sceptre was a mark of consular rank. It was also used by generals who received the title of imperator. In the First Persian Empire, the Biblical Book of Esther mentions the sceptre of the King of Persia. Esther 5,2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, so Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. Under the Roman Empire, the sceptrum Augusti was specially used by the emperors, the codes of the right and the cruel sceptre are found in the ancient Tamil work of Tirukkural, dating back to between the first and the third centuries BCE. With the advent of Christianity, the sceptre was tipped with a cross instead of with an eagle

5.
Jagiellonian dynasty
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The dynasty reigned in several Central European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland, Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Kings of Hungary, one Jagiellonian briefly ruled both Poland and Hungary, and two others ruled both Bohemia and Hungary and then continued in the distaff line as a branch of the House of Habsburg. The cultural flowering had its base in the prosperity of the elites. The name comes from Jogaila, the first Grand Duke of Lithuania to become King of Poland, the rule of Piasts, the earlier Polish ruling house had ended with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Gediminids, the predecessors of the first Jagiellonian, were rulers of medieval Lithuania with the title of Grand Duke. Their realm, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was inhabited by Lithuanians and Ruthenians. Jogaila, the eponymous first ruler of the Jagiellonin dynasty, started as the Grand Duke of Lithuania, as a result of the Union of Krewo he then converted to Christianity and married the 11-year-old Hedwig of Poland. Thereby he became King of Poland and founded the dynasty, angevin rulers were the second and Jagiellonian third dynasty of Polish Kings. In 1385 the Union of Krewo was signed between Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the last pagan state in Europe, the act arranged for Jogailas baptism and for the couples marriage and constituted the beginning of the Polish–Lithuanian union. The Union strengthened both nations in their opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Uniquely in Europe, the union connected two states located on the opposite sides of the great civilizational divide between the Western or Latin, and the Eastern or Byzantine worlds. The intention of the Union was to create a state under Władysław II Jagiełło. Geographic consequences of the union and the preferences of the Jagiellonian kings accelerated the process of reorientation of Polish territorial priorities to the east. The political influence of the Jagiellonian kings was diminishing during this period, the royal dynasty, however, had a stabilizing effect on Polands politics. The Jagiellonian Era is often regarded as a period of political power, great prosperity, and in its later stage. The offensive that followed lost its impact with the siege of Malbork. The failure to take the fortress and eliminate the Teutonic state had for Poland dire historic consequences in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the Peace of Thorn had given Poland and Lithuania rather modest territorial adjustments, including Samogitia. Afterwards there were negotiations and peace deals that didnt hold, more military campaigns and arbitrations, one attempted, unresolved arbitration took place at the Council of Constance

6.
Sigismund II Augustus
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Sigismund II Augustus was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. Married three times, the last of the Jagiellons remained childless, and through the Union of Lublin introduced an elective monarchy. Lord and heir From the outset of his reign, Sigismund came into collision with the countrys nobility, so violent was the agitation at Sigismunds first sejm that the deputies threatened to renounce their allegiance unless the King repudiated his wife Barbara. He refused and won the day, Sigismund soon lost all hope of children by his third bride, he was the last male Jagiellon in the direct line so the dynasty was threatened with extinction. He sought to remedy this by adultery with two of the most beautiful of his countrywomen, Barbara Giżanka and Anna Zajączkowska but was unable to either of them. The sejm was willing to legitimatize, and acknowledge as Sigismunds successor, any male heir who might be born to him, however, the Kings marriage was a matter of great political import to Protestants and Catholics alike. The Polish Protestants hoped that he would divorce and remarry and thus bring about a breach with Rome at the crisis of the religious struggle in Poland. He was not free to remarry until Queen Catherines death on 28 February 1572, Sigismunds reign was a period of internal turmoil and external expansion. A less imposing figure than his father, the elegant and refined Sigismund II Augustus was nevertheless an even more effective statesman than the stern and majestic Sigismund I the Old. Sigismund II possessed to a degree the tenacity and patience that seem to have characterized all the Jagiellons. No other Polish king seems to have so understood the nature of the Polish sejm. Both the Austrian ambassadors and the papal legates testify to the care with which he controlled his nation, everything went as he wished, they said, because he seemed to know everything in advance. Like his father, a pro-Austrian by conviction, he contrived even in respect to carry with him the nation. He avoided serious complications with the powerful Turks, Sigismund II mediated for twenty years between the Catholic Church and the Protestants. His most striking memorial may have been the Union of Lublin, also, German-speaking Royal Prussia and Prussian cities were included. This achievement might well have been impossible without Sigismund, Sigismund died at his beloved Knyszyn on 6 July 1572, aged 51. In 1573, Henry III of Valois was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for a few months, shortly thereafter, Sigismunds sister Anna of Poland married Stefan Batory, and they ruled as King and Queen of Poland. In addition to his connections, Sigismund II was allied to the Imperial Habsburgs by his pledge as member of the Order of the Golden Fleece

7.
Podlaskie Voivodeship
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This is an article about a present administrative unit of Poland. For historical units, see History of Podlaskie Voivodeship, Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The capital of Podlasie Province is Białystok, there are two opinions regarding the origin of the regions name. People often derive it from the Slavic les or las, meaning forest, i. e. it is an area by the wood or an area of forests, which would bring Podlasie close in meaning to adjacent Polesia. This theory has been questioned, as it does not properly take into consideration the vowel shifts a > e > i in various Slavic languages, heavily wooded Podlasie is home to the primal Białowieża Forest and National Park, habitat of the European wisent bison and tarpan. A second view holds that the term comes from the expression pod Lachem, some claim it to mean under Polish rule, which does not seem historically sound, as the area belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1569, and the southern part of it—until 1795. Hence pod Lachem would mean near the Poles, along the border with Poland, the historical Lithuanian name of the region, Palenkė, has exactly this meaning. It has a landscape, shaped in the north by Baltic glaciation. The highest peaks are in the north, where the landscape is dominated by a lake district. Lakeland, Zachodniosuwalskie, Wschodniosuwalskie, Ełckie) and Sandrowy lake district in the central and southern pre-glacial plains prevail, varied in topography with small basins, kurpie lie on the west edge of the outwash plains. Sand, gravel, clay, moraine, and in the valleys and basins of the silt, sand. The vast forests, some of which are the ones in Europe to have retained their original character, contain a unique wealth of flora. The vegetation of the region is diverse, which contributes to the richness of the animal world. Visitors can also see moose, wolves, lynx and bison living in the Białowieża Forest, Podlaskie has the lowest population density of the sixteen Polish voivodeships, and its largely unspoiled nature is one of its chief assets. Around 30% of the area of the voivodeship is under legal protection, the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest biosphere reserve is in Podlaskie. There are four National Parks, three Landscape Parks,88 nature reserves, and 15 protected landscape areas, the voivodeship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area known as the Green Lungs of Poland. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands, the region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being -−5 °C. The average temperature in a year is 7 °C, the number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days

8.
Imperial Crown of Austria
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The Imperial Crown of Austria was made in 1602 in Prague by Jan Vermeyen as the personal crown of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, and therefore is also known as the Crown of Emperor Rudolf II. The crown was used as a crown of the Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Hungary. In 1804 it became the crown of the newly constituted Austrian Empire. After 1867 it remained the crown of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. The Imperial Crown consists of three principal elements possessing great symbolic significance, the circlet, the arch, and the mitre. The circlet is dominated by eight large squares of diamonds, forming a crown in itself, between the stones are two large pearls arranged vertically and set within white enamel rosettes surrounded by scrollwork. From the circlet emerge eight lilies, which were inspired by the Bohemian Crown of St. Wenceslas. The lilies are also associated with the fleurs-de-lis of the House of Valois, the use of eight elements was also taken from the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, which includes a circlet made out of eight plates. In the circlet are precious stones such as spinels, zircons, the zircons are cut in such a way that they are flat at the front. Preparing precious stones for mounting in this way was a new technique at the time the crown was made. The mitre symbolises the right to rule, and the spiritual position of the emperor. The mitre fills the left and right sides of the crown, the mitre is made of gold, with a band of enamel work depicting birds and plants. The mitre is divided into four sections representing the high honours of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, the first section shows him kneeling, receiving the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire in Regensburg as Holy Roman Emperor. The second section shows him riding onto the hill in Pressburg during his coronation as King of Hungary. The third section shows his coronation procession through Prague as King of Bohemia, the fourth section depicts an allegory of his victory over the invading Turks. The Latin inscription inside the arch reads, RVDOLPHVS II ROM IMP AVGVSTUS HVNG ET BOH REX CONSTRVXIT MDCII, the high arch was inspired by the arch of the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. It rises from the front and back of the circlet and is studded with eight diamonds, the emperor was regarded as governor on earth in the name of Christ. At the top of the arch is an emerald, which symbolises heaven

9.
Regalia of Serbia
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Serbia, like most former monarchies of Europe, has had crowns once worn by its rulers. The various Serbian principalities and kingdoms were organised around a number of different royal dynasties, many of these invested in symbols of royalty which has led to a number of distinctive crowns, jewels and other treasures of incredible wealth surviving to the present day. As far as is known, there are four royal crowns once worn by Serbian kings or princes that have survived to the present day, the Nemanjić Crown Jewels are the oldest of the surviving pieces of Serbian royal regalia. They were used in the ceremonies of members of the medieval House of Nemanjić. The 14th Century Crown of King Stephen III is kept at Cetinje Monastery in the Republic of Montenegro, another crown which had once belonged to medieval Serbian rulers is kept in the Royal Treasury museum in Vienna, Austria. Also, at the Vienna Royal Treasury are found two further crowns once worn by members of the medieval Nemanjić dynasty, one of which was attributed to Prince Stefan Bockaj. Together with these is a mantle of unknown origin which is believed to have been captured by the Serbs from the Ottomans at Brasov. The Karađorđević Crown Jewels were created in 1904 for the coronation of King Peter I, the pieces were made from materials that included bronze taken from the cannon Karađorđe used during the First Serbian Uprising. This gesture was symbolic because 1904 was the 100th anniversary of that uprising, the regalia was made in Paris by the famous Falise brothers jewellery company and is currently the only Serbian crown kept in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. The Royal Mantle is made of velvet, embroidered with gold. History of Serbia List of Serbian monarchs Kingdom of Serbia Serbian Empire Official Website

10.
Arms of Skanderbeg
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Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was a prominent figure in the history of Albania. His weapons have been subjects of mythical adoration, according to legends his sword was so heavy that only his arm could wield it. Also it was said to be so sharp that it could slice a man vertically from head to waist with little effort, of all of Skanderbegs belongings, but four objects remain, two swords, a helmet, and a prayer book. The prayer book is archived at the Shelley Publishing House in Chelsea, according to Dhimitër Frëngu, Skanderbegs scribe and one of his biographers, the first sword was curved, with a sharp edge and elegantly made of Damascened steel. There are also accounts which report that at one point he kept two swords sheathed in the same scabbard, Frengu then adds, rather colourfully, that Skanderbeg brought a master sword-maker over from Italy, who produced three better swords for him. One of them, that could cut through steel, he sent it as a present to the Ottoman Sultan and it is also known that in Skanderbegs last visit to the Holy See, Pope Paul II presented the Albanian hero with a sword and a cap. The straight sword, which lies at the Museum of Ambras along with the helmet, is double-edged, the blade is dressed in gold. It is 85.5 centimeters long,5.7 cm wide and its scabbard is made of leather. According to Faik Konica, who viewed the sword at the beginning of the 20th century, on the other hand, the curved sword, including the hilt, measures 121 cm in length and weighs 3.2 kg. This sword is fashioned after Ottoman styles of the time, and just as Dhimiter Frengu reported five centuries earlier, is a damascene steel, there is an inscription in Turkish, which according to Faik Konica is not correct. Still, according to Faik Konica, only the blade belongs to the sword held by Skanderbeg. The hilt, dressed in silver, and the velvet scabbard belong to a subsequent time, both swords were reproduced in Vienna, for exclusive display in Tirana. Of these two swords, the one which Skanderbeg used in times of war could have been the curved one, the straight sword was rather short for his tall frame, whereas the other one afforded the flexibility required for cavalry charges and the fighting style of the day. In addition, having trained in Turkey, and having learned there his skills in martial arts. Skanderbeg’s helmet is made of metal, adorned with a strip dressed in gold. On its top lies the head of a goat made of bronze. Contemporary sources show that 14th century Albanians were invariably identified as a tribal peoples, at the request of the pre-WWII Albanian government, an identical copy of the helmet of Skanderbeg lies now in the National Museum of Tirana, Albania. The copy was manufactured by an Austrian master in 1937, the helmet is depicted on the reverse of the Albanian 5000 lekë banknote, issued since 1996